MANSFIELD — The Richland County Park District (RCPD) Board of Commissioners invites the public to the Gorman Nature Center on Sunday, June 14 at 2 p.m. for the dedication of its new flagpole.
The ceremony will be held at Gorman Nature Center, located at 2295 Lexington Avenue, with remarks prior to the flag raising to be held in the picnic pavilion. Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony.
“We’re proud to finally be flying Old Glory over our park grounds,” said Jordan Tackett, Executive Director of the RCPD. “This flag will be dedicated in honor of America’s 250th anniversary and all American conservationists, whose legacy we proudly carry on.
“Our staff has been working hard to get the installation completed in time for the dedication on Flag Day.”
The flag displayed will be an all weather flag and illuminated at night so it may displayed at all times.
Flag Day commemorates the date in 1777 when the Continental Congress first approved the design for a national flag. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the date as Flag Day.
In 1949 The U.S. Congress permanently established the date as a holiday, National Flag Day.
The RCPD is dedicated to education, conservation and public programming. It currently serves as stewards of six parks throughout the county, featuring the Gorman Nature Center, Fleming Falls Preserve, and the B&O Bike trail.
A seventh park, the Niss Waterfall Preserve, is scheduled to open by the end of June. The RCPD is supported by a levy passed in 2024 by the voters of Richland County.